Local
News |
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- Local
Publicity, March 5, 2000
- Car Stuck, March 22, 2000
- Robbery
of RC Pilot, march 23, 2000
- Road Closed during Tin Hau Festival, April 24, 2000
- Irretrievable Damage to Our Flying Site!, October 8, 2000
- Be Careful of Sting by Bees!, October 9, 2000
- Local Publicity by Ming Po Daily, January 8, 2001
- Video Shooting of Our R/C Soaring
Activities by Cable TV, May 8, 2001
- A new local R/C soaring club was born!, July 3, 2001
- Tow plane for thermal soaring, July 7, 2001
- Accident in Ma On Shan,
October 25, 2001
- Fire in Clearwater Bay,
October 27, 2001
- Slope Combat Contest,
November 11, 2001
- HKRCSS 2001 Annual
General Meeting, January 26, 2002
- Aviation Day and Exhibition, February 23, 2002
- Slope soarers
trapped in the bushes, August 26, 2002
- Slope Combat
Contest in Fei Ngo Shan, October 20, 2002
- F3F Race
in Clearwater Bay North-Facing Slope, November 3, 2002
- F3F Race in Ma On Shan, December 15, 2002
- Slope
soarers injured by a run wild sailplane, August 24, 2003
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Local Publicity |
| On the front page! Slope soaring in Hong Kong
has been given a boost in publicity. A local magazine has recently put up a column about
RC slope soaring activities in Hong Kong. In the following picture printed in the
magazine, you may find some of our enthusiast pilots of over three generations. |
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| : Recently, we have a small incident related to a car which got stuck in a
water ditch in Clearwater Bay. Please see the photo below. The event happened when one of
our fellow pilots who tried to pull his car out of the unpaved field next to the flying
ground after a day of fun. He didn't notice that there is a water drainage ditch between
the field and the road. As he steered his wheel for a back turn, the left front wheel was
immersed into the ditch. It took at least six strong men half an hour of efforts to
release him. As we all know that the available parking spaces in Clearwater Bay are rare
during weekend, our fellow pilots please take extra care if you really need to drive up to
the unpaved field for parking! |
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Robbery of RC Pilot |
| Recently, there is news report that one of our
fellow RC pilots who flew RC sailplanes alone in Fei Ngo Shan was robbed by two young
men. The incident happened on Monday, 20 March at noon time when Mr. Wong was flying
his sailplanes in Fei Ngo Shan (Site A), two men approached and watched for a long time
before robbing him. He was hurt in the incident. As you know Fei Ngo Shan is quite a
remote area and usually there are lots of our fellow pilots and hikers in this area during
weekend, but in weekdays it is danger to fly over there alone. If you really need to fly sailplanes there on weekdays, ask some of your
friends to go with you and take extra cautious of people nearby. |
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Road Closed during Tin Hau Festival |
| Please note that, Tai Au Mun road, the road that
leads to Clearwater Bay flying sites will be closed in day time during the Tin Hau
Festival. The dates of closure are 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 and 30 all on April. However,
you still be able to park your car in Clearwater bay beach and walk up to the flying
sites. |
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Irretrievable
Damage to Our Flying Site! |
| Recently, the Government Road
Work department had done a horrible and irretrievable damage to our flying site in Fei Ngo
Shan south facing slope! See the pictures below. A big metal box with electric
installation was erected just right at spot where we normally squeeze in for R/C soaring.
They also erected some light poles along the road, few of them are just right on our
flying paths! We feel that this work carried out by the Government without
consulting our fellow pilots is totally unacceptable! There are plenty of
possible places where the electric box can be located, for example, the ground next to the
notice board. Besides, this metal box looks really awful and is obstructing the scenic
view. In addition, there are many possible places to erect the light poles, if the poles
were erected on the inner side of the road, they are less obstructive to our cruising
gliders and may be acceptable to us. This south facing slope is our best flying site
during summer time. We should act now to stop the Government doing this irretrievable
damage to our soaring treasure! |
This metal box looks really awful!
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Why not move the light pole to the inner side of the road?
See the first casualty so far
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Horrible! Will they clean up this mess? I bet not!
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Be Careful of Sting by Bees! |
| Warning: In October 6
during Chung Yueng Festival, there was a sorrow event happened in Clearwater Bay. The
event involved one of our active pilots and some angry bees. The misfortuner, Mr. Lee, who
has landed his sailplane in the bushes far down the slope was chased and stung by a group
of angry bees as he crawled through the dense bushes to recover his plane. He managed to
make a mobile call for help before loosing conscious. The accident was immediately
reported to the police and a few pilots rushed down to locate him. It took the firemen
half an hour to recover him and brought him back to the road. He was unconscious all the
way and was rushed to hospital immediately. Fortunately, after emergency treatment by
doctors in hospital, he regained conscious and is now recovering well. This accident
reminds us some important things beside enjoying soaring: Never fly alone! In case of
accident, someone would be available for help. If you really need to go far down to
recover the plane, equip yourself with the protective cloth and grove and bring a mobile
phone with you. Pay extra caution when you crawl through the dense bushes, there may be
snakes, bees and other poisonous insects, don't disturb them! 
Unconscious and on the way to hospital
Mr. Bees is now fully recovered and fly again. See his recent photo.
Make sure not to disturb the bees again! |
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Local Publicity by Ming Po Daily |
| A brief report about our R/C soaring
activity in Hong Kong was published by Ming Po Daily on January 7, 2001. The report
described the basic principle of R/C slope soaring, where we can fly our sailplanes in
Hong Kong, and also quoted a few words from our die-hard R/C soarers. A reporter has
actually paid a visit to us in Clearwater bay a week before and he was toured by John Chan
and was shown how we enjoy our clean and fascinating hobby. |
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Video
Shooting of Our R/C Soaring Activities by Cable TV |
| On 5 May 2001, a TV crew
from Cable TV has paid a visit to our flying site in Fei Ngo Shan. The crew interviewed
our fellow pilots for information about the R/C soaring activities, how we got start in
this wonderful sport, the principle behind slope soaring, how we perform aerobatic
maneuvers, and etc. The video shooting will be broadcast on Channel 1 at 7:00pm on 11 May
2001. Have a look! You can also view the footage on i-cable or on hkcommunity.net. |
Stanley was interviewed by the TV crew. With the backing of many
enthusiastic pilots behind the crew, he was demonstrating how a sailplane can perform
aerobatic maneuver
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The camera man had a difficult time to catch the fast moving
sailplanes.
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Stanley and Master Leung were demonstrating air combat skill while
the camera man was busy on taking the shoots
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With an air show and a beautiful scenery in front of us, we are sure
the TV viewers be excited by this wonderful sport
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A new
local R/C soaring club was born! |
| A great day with big wind
in Clearwater Bay marked a new born local soaring club. With the supports from 36
enthusiastic pilots, we kicked start our club on 30 June 2001. The historical meeting took
place in Clearwater Bay Country Club at the evening after having a day of soaring in the
nearby flying site. Our founding members also enjoyed a wonderful meal in the
Country Club's restaurant after the meeting. Please visit the club's official web site if you want to
join the club. |
The smiling founding members before the meeting
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Overwhelming supports from our enthusiastic members
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Tow plane for
thermal soaring |
| While most of the soaring
activities in Hong Kong center on slope soaring, a small group of r/c pilots leaded by
Paul Wong dedicates its efforts on thermal soaring. Recently, they have designed and built
a tow plane in order to support their activities in thermal soaring. Pictures below show
the realization of their first goal - the successful maiden flight of their tow plane. For
pilots interested in thermal soaring, please contact Paul at infowong@netvigator.com
for information. |
On its maiden flight
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Paul with the tow plane
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Accident in Ma On Shan |
On 25, October 2001
during Chung Yeung Festival, a hiker walking along the Maclehose Trail in Ma On Shan
Country Park was hit in his bum by a run-wild r/c sailplane. This unfortunate event
happened when Mr. Ho, one of our fellow r/c soarers, tried to land his Multiplex Pilatus
B4 headwind on the top of the east-facing slope in Ma On Shan. With strong influence of
rotors closed to the ground, he lost control of the plane and it plunged into a group of
hikers walking on the hiking path. The victim was hurt and appearing could not continue to
walk after the incident. Firemen were called to take him down to the hospital.
Fortunately, he was immediately discharged after the treatment. The chance of hitting
people by a sailplane in the Ma On Shan area is extremely rare as usually there are not
many hikers in this area and also there are plenty of open space for a sailplane to land!
Anyway, this accident remind us that extra care must be taken in controlling your
sailplanes particularly when there are people nearby.
Supplement: there were
two more accidents happened in the same day in Clearwater Bay. The injuries were even more
serious but somehow the cases were not reported to the police. One victim was hurt in his
head and was rushed to hospital for treatment. Another victim sustained minor breeding but
otherwise fine. |
News report
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Fire in Clearwater Bay |
| The Clearwater Bay flying
field was severely damaged by a fire supposed to be started at the night of October 26,
2001 by irresponsible people who may have throw burning cigarettes into the bushes. The
one who did this should be fined for the damage he did to the environment! It takes months
for nature to recover itself. Dear fellow pilots please take extra care in landing and
recovering your sailplanes there! |
Who did that horrible damage to our flying ground?
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You see the smoke is still coming out!
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Slope Combat Contest |
| On November 11, 2001, the
Hong Kong Radio Control Soaring Society held a slope combat contest in Clearwater Bay.
Totally, 28 pilots participated in the combat. They were split into three groups
for the dog flight. Three rounds of combat were originally scheduled, however, as the wind
condition deteriorated after the first combat in the second round, the CD called off the
combat and decided to select the winners based on the scores from the first round. The
champion, first runner up and second runner up are Lo Sung Pun, Choi Yiu Keung and Master
Leung, respectively. The event was covered by the local news media including TVB and
Oriental News. Although the wind was not that cooperative, we did have a great day! |
All set, ready to launch!
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See the weapons!
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Pilots were concentrating on combat
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The CD, Master Fai, was spotting any pilot violating the rules
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The Champion, first and second runner ups
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Group photo after the contest
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HKRCSS 2001
Annual General Meeting |
| The Hong Kong Radio Control
Soaring Society held its first Annual General Meeting on 26 January, 2002. There
were 46 members and 10 guests participating in the meeting and the AGM dinner
afterward. Good food and entertainment including video shows, quiz and lucky draw have
contributed to the success of this wonderful event. |
Chairman present his report in the AGM
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Gang of four! Chester, Leung, Stanley and Willy
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Friendly conversation about the prize, quiz, and food, what else?
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The questions seem to be too difficult for them!
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What is the current F3F world record? Let me think.. 31.?? s!
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Little Law is the grand prize winner
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Aviation Day and Exhibition |
| The Hong Kong Aviation Club
has organized an open day and exhibition in the old Kai Tat Airport on Saturday 23,
February 2002. The Hong Kong Radio Control Soaring Society (HKRCSS) was honored to
be given a booth to exhibit some model gliders and to explain their r/c soaring activities
to a large crowd of enthusiastic visitors. The club has put up some beautiful r/c gliders
on the field, thank you Mr. Paul Wong for his tireless effort to put up the display and to
explain the principle of r/c soaring to the visitors. A flight simulator was also set up
to let visitors to get a feel of r/c soaring and indeed this attracted a large number of
young visitors to the booth! The event has attracted a wide coverage from the local media
and certainly the general public will have a deeper understanding of r/c soaring activity.
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Sailplanes on display include a tow plane, 4m fox and an F3B Ellipse
III Cam models. Paul Wong (wearing a red cap) was enthusiastic to explain to the crowd on
the principles of r/c soaring and the model sailplanes
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HKRCSS's team on manning the booth. One of the helper was very busy
in helping our potential young pilots to play with the flight simulator.
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This little electric HLG was attracting a few young followers
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Visitors to the Aviation Day have the first chance to see the most
beautifully constructed model gliders. Thank you Paul Wong for his effort in putting up
the display of these gliders
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Oh! Is it a model helicopter? Let's fly it!
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Hello! How can I join this wonderful r/c glider flying activities?
Well, start with the flight simulator first!
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All landed safely in this airfield?
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Mum, let me try this copter, I will be a good pilot twenty year
later!
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Slope soarers
trapped in the bushes |
| On 23, August 2002, two newbies in slope
soaring went to fly their sailplanes in Clearwater Bay. Their planes went down quickly
after launched. They then went down to try to recover their planes but were trapped 200 ft
down in the dense bushes. Firemen were called to rescue them. They were unhurt and
appeared to be very happy with their recovered planes. Well, according to the weather
report that day, the wind direction was southwest. Obvious to experience pilots Clearwater
Bay is only suitable for easterly wind and is clearly NOT flyable for southwesterly wind!
I guess they really need an introductory to slope soaring! |
News report
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Slope Combat
Contest in Fei Ngo Shan |
| The Hong Kong Radio Control
Soaring Society held a slope combat contest in the south-facing slope in Fei Ngo Shan on
Sunday, 20 Oct. 2002. There were 36 pilots participating in the combat including one pilot
traveled far from US! The wind speed was light to moderate and although it was
marginal for combat, it was good enough to have lots of fun. Three rounds of contest
were carried out. The champion is Au Chi Fai with a total score of 33, first runner
up is Jacky Lo and second runner up is Master Leung. The Booby prize goes to Stanley Chan.
Congratulation! |
The first group in combat. It seems that they are rather kind to
each other that means "no kill"
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The wind was cooperative and sure they've had good fun
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Intensive killing or not
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The combat zone
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Concentrate men! Master Leung you are using the old trick!
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The CD in guarding the rules
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Oh! poor chap, being knocked down is painful, but it would be
even more painful if you are not safely recovering your plane! Take your time.
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Sure you all enjoy this kind of "killing" each other!
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See the faces of our fellow soarers, lots of fun isn't it?
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Thanks to the help from Lo's family, in particular, to Miss Lo for
her excellent service.
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Oh! They are hijackers of the trophies, not the winners!
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The champion, Master Fai (right), is here
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Does the first runner up, Jacky (right), inherit the skill from his
father, champion of last year contest?
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Oh! Master Leung (right), you got the second runner up again, same
as last year contest! Does it mean you are over the top?
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Stanley (right), you got the booby prize? Oh, shame of you!
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The three serious killers! Avoid them!
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The winners and their prizes
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A valuable photo for you to keep. Cheer!
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Let's have the last fun of the day - massive launch
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See a movie for the intense of the combat
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F3F
Race in Clearwater Bay North-Facing Slope |
| On Sunday, 3 Nov. 2002, a
F3F race was held in Clearwater Bay north-facing slope. There were 13 pilots participating
in the race. The race was started at 12:00pm and lasted until 4:00pm. Four rounds of race
were completed. The wind speed was averaged at 18km/hr but there were lots of turbulence
and the wind speed varied a lots so do the results. The best time is 55.38s by Jacky Lo
and he also won the race. Here are the detailed scores: |
| Name |
Score |
Model |
Best Time (s) |
| Jacky Lo |
2862 |
Miraj |
55.38 |
| Big Lo |
2849 |
Shooting Star |
60.03 |
| Cheong |
2782 |
Shooting Star |
60.88 |
| Stanley Chan |
2766 |
Sting |
57.13 |
| K.Y. Mak |
2669 |
Shooting Star |
62.16 |
| Master Leung |
2636 |
Sting/Shooting Star |
61.47 |
| Cheung Wan Kin |
2471 |
Sirius |
68.00 |
| Ip Chi Shing |
2372 |
Shooting Star |
69.09 |
| Au Chi Fai |
2361 |
Shooting Star |
72.00 |
| Alex Lip |
2316 |
Minij |
68.06 |
| Lo Po Chung |
2297 |
Shooting Star |
67.94 |
| Fu |
2265 |
Minij |
69.41 |
| Alex So |
1408 |
Shooting Star |
74.84 |
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Minij turns in base B
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Our duly respected Tsz Ming in guarding base A
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Miraj picking speed after turn
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Sting speed run towards base B
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Minij in a close up
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Dive pass base A to kick start
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| F3F Race in Ma On Shan |
| A F3F race was held in Ngon
Ping, Ma On Shan on Sunday, 15 Dec. 2002. There were18 pilots participating in the race.
The weather was fine and the wind speed was average at 16km/hr. The lift was just good
enough for the race and hence the overall times are on the lower side. Five rounds of
contest were held. The best time is 67.25 by Stanley Chan and he also won the race by a
big margin with five top scores on all rounds. Congratulation!. The top 6 winners
all have a wonderful prize donated by various sponsors. Here are the detailed
scores: |
| Name |
Score |
Model |
Best Time (s) |
| Stanley Chan |
4000 |
Sting |
67.25 |
| Jacky Lo |
3476 |
Miraj |
72.57 |
| Choi Yiu Keung |
3418 |
Shooting Star |
79.84 |
| Ho Kwok Wai |
3418 |
Shooting Star |
74.84 |
| Big Lo |
3357 |
Shooting Star |
79.21 |
| Cheong |
3350 |
Shooting Star |
74.53 |
| Fat Fai |
3302 |
Sting |
81.22 |
| Cheung Wan Kin |
3299 |
Smart |
81.53 |
| Y.C. Lui |
3273 |
Shooting Star |
79.55 |
| Master Leung |
3266 |
Sting |
81.88 |
| Alex Lip |
3260 |
Minij |
83.02 |
| Stephen Chan |
3242 |
Shooting Star |
83.56 |
| K. Y. Mak |
3202 |
Shooting Star/MiniCorado |
76.47 |
| Joe |
3161 |
Shooting Star |
83.56 |
| Fu |
3154 |
Shooting Star |
86.31 |
| Alex So |
2922 |
Shooting Star |
90.84 |
| Danny Ho |
2856 |
MiniNYX |
90.66 |
| Ip Chi Sing |
992 |
Shooting Star |
108.28 |
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A group photo after the race
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The top racers are on
standby |
Loosing speed and altitude! Y.C., are you struggling?
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Master Leung, it is a slope race, not an aerobatic show! Why are you flying so close
to the slope? Well, the end result is .. CRASH!!
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Our honorable time keepers on guarding the post
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Shooting Star on a speedy fly pass
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One, two, three ... launch!
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The top six winners all have a wonderful prize donated by the sponsors
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See a movie for the speed run
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Another speed run
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| Slope
soarers injured by a run wild sailplane |
| On Sunday, 24 August 2003 while
the typhoon Krovanh was approaching and no. 3 signal was hoisted, a few fellow pilots took
the challenge to fly in Clearwater Bay. The wind was gusty and sure it is a golden
opportunity for skillful pilots to fly their heavy models. However, this also attracted a
few new comers who flew their light EPP models. In this kind of gusty wind condition
without proper models and proper skill, accident are prone. Willy Lim, HKRCSS's past
treasurer is an unfortunate victim. According to Willy, there were many EPP planes flying
around the slope and he thought he was quite safe standing on the grass field
opposite the road and away from the hot spot near the slope. Still, he was hit in his head
by a run wild EPP Eraser while he was discussing sailplane stuff with fellow pilots.
"It happened so fast, the plane crashed to my head in a flash of a second and I have
no time to react" said Willy. "I felt like being bumped at by a football and the
next second I was just so dazy. Then I realized that I was bleeding. Luckily it isn't a
moldy!" said Willy. Fortunately, after a detailed check up in hospital, he was
discharged and back home with all his memory. Dear fellow
r/c pilots please take safety as your very first priority and never fly in the condition
that you don't feel comfortable! |
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